


Things I Can't Say

by Purrrrrington



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alcohol Usage, Amputee Peridot (Steven Universe), College AU, Drama...Lots, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Human AU, Multi, Sex, Sexting, Sexual Innuendoes, Sexual Jokes, lapidot - Freeform, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2018-08-31 03:11:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8561326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purrrrrington/pseuds/Purrrrrington
Summary: Peridot Diamond is a twenty-two year old antisocial college student who just moved out of her mothers house, deciding to give dorm life a chance. After meeting her quiet roommate, making some unexpected friends and literally turning her entire social life around, she starts to realize just how much life has to offer... but will bumping into a blue-haired stranger and her she-hulk of a girlfriend crumble her newer, healthier, lifestyle? Sending her back into old habits?





	1. Settling In

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I have to apologize about the length of this first chapter... this is my first fanfiction so I wanted to test out the waters. Feedback (good or bad) in the comments are appreciated!

'Well... This is it. No turning back now...' Peridot thought, keeping her hand firmly on the door handle in front of her. 

She had already switched rooms eleven times within the past two weeks, and the residential advisor was done listening to her constant complaints. She had already exceeded the limit of room changes, and supposedly had 'unrealistic' requirements. It's not that she couldn't have lived with the clods who occupied the dorms, but so far no one could meet her expectations. All she wanted was someone who would stay on their side of the room, keep their side organized, clean and fragrant, and never spoke to her outside of necessary conversations. What was so 'unrealistic' about that?

After getting lost in her thoughts Peridot sighed, pushing her thick framed glasses up and quickly opening the door. To her pleasure her roommate wasn't there. "Thank the lord..." She groaned, dropping her bags on the floor and walking to the undecorated side of the room. To her surprise, the other side of the room was moderately clean, besides from a few stray text books, a soccer ball and a pair of cleats. 

"Well, I guess it could be worse..." She mumbled to herself, dragging her bags over to an empty closet. 

_____________________________

The whole time Peridot took to organize her clothes, put up some posters, and all together just empty out her bags, her roommate hadn't even showed up yet. She looked over at her clock:

12:27 A.M.

'It's past curfew...' She thought to herself, kind of wondering where this supposed roommate was. 'Wait... Why do you even care?' Peridot rolled her eyes and decided it was about time to just wine down for the night. She pulled off her bright green t-shirt that read 'Nerd Alert!' With a red siren above the letters. She placed the shirt in her laundry basket then took her jeans off before pulling on a baggy black hoodie that went to her knees. It's not that the hoodie was gigantic, if anything, in theory, it should fit her perfectly, but she's so damn short that almost anything was to long on her. 

She groaned a bit before stretching out her tired limbs, pulling the hood up over her short, rather messily spiked, blonde hair and crawling into bed. Instead of sleeping though she pulled out her laptop, deciding to go through some practice programs. While she clicked away at her laptop, she almost didn't here the door open and two faint voices giggling as they made their way into the room. 

"Wait..." I very soft sweet voice uttered, noticing the glow from Peridots laptop.

The lights came on in a flick and Peridot flinched at the sudden change, letting a surprised squeak out before quickly turning to the two tall frames at the door. From the looks of it, the two seemed liked polar opposites.

One of them was slightly taller then the other with beautiful dark and silky skin. She was wearing some curb hugging jeans, a white tank top that exposed some of her stomach and a short leather jacket. She sported a dark a curly Afro, and Peridot could only assume her eyes were equally as enchanting, because they were hidden behind sunglasses. The other figure was a bit shorter and thinner with almost pale colored skin. She was wearing a modest blue sundress that fit like a glove with white sandals. Her eyes wear an icy, but beautiful, blue with a darker ring at the end of her irises. The girls hair was a very light strawberry blonde color and cut short in the back, but framed her soft, beautiful, face in the front.

The shorter of the two spoke again. "I thought you said you didn't have a roommate..." 

The taller one just shrugged and crossed her arms, looking over towards Peridot. "I do now." She said, filling the room with a soft monotoned British accent. 

The silence that came was long and kind of awkward. No one really said anything until the shorter of the two girls cleared her throat. "...Well, good night Garnet, I'll see you tomorrow." She said, getting on her tippy toes and pecking the taller girls lips softly. "And goodnight to you...-" She said, looking at Peridot expectingly. 

She sighed softly, taking the hood off and waving. "...Peridot." She mumbled, looking at the two. "Sorry for interrupting your evening."

The two smiled softly, looking at each other for a second. "It's honestly no bother, I have an exam in the morning anyway so it's a good idea if I head back to my room." The shorter of the two said, heading towards the door. 

Garnet watched her leave and waved. "Goodnight Pearl." 

Not much was said once Pearl was gone, which Peridot normally didn't mind, but it felt more like an awkward silence then just having a quiet new roommate. 

As though the tall girl read her mind, a newly familiar British accent broke the tension. "Sorry, I'm not much of a talker."

"Um.... No need to apologize, I'm more of a 'silence is golden' kind of person anyway..." Peridot reassured, starting to click away at her laptop once again. 

"Do you mind if I turn off the lights? I need to get ready for bed." Garnet said, walking back to the light switch. 

"That seems counterproductive, but by all means go ahead." She said in a half mumble.

After a few seconds the lights went off and all Peridot could see was the screen of her laptop, and all she could hear we small rustles and drawers opening then closing shortly after. Eventually curiosity got the better of her and she pecked over towards her new roommates side, not seeing much while her eyes adjusted. 

"I have photophobia." Is all Peridot heard from the dark side of the room, causing her to shiver. It's like this roommate of hers just had a sixth sense or something. 

The short blonde stayed quiet as the room fell silent again, waiting to see if anything more was said. After a few minutes though, she made out a figure on the bed next to hers.

'Guess she's asleep then...' Peridot thought, turning back to her computer screen and resuming her task. 

All in all this wasn't a bad pairing so far, this could work.

________________________________


	2. Day By Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How long has it been since you've left the dorms?" Garnet asked, finally breaking the silence. "And I don't mean for stuff like school."
> 
> Peridot was completely caught off guard by the question. Not just because of what was asked, but also because that was the most she'd ever heard the other girl say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't really edited anything yet as a heads up.

Peridots days consisted of five main things; Morning prep, school, cleaning/maintenance/laundry, video games, and late night studying. The only thing that differed on the weekends was there was no school, which, she didn't mind. Her schedule was comfortable. Her life was comfortable, and so far so were her new living arrangements. If she was completely honest though, she did miss having her own room, in a quiet house, with no one there, since her mother was always off on some sort of business trip. Garnet didn't bother her either, in fact, it was almost like she didn't have a roommate, but it was still strange knowing someone was there. It was kind of comforting in a way. She had spent most of her life being alone in a huge house that it didn't even feel like anything was missing. 

When did she start feeling so contradicting?

'What are you blubbering about?!' She thought, sighing as she closed her laptop. 'It's only been a week and you're already getting soft in the head! You need to focus on class or finding a job or .... SOMETHING!' 

Peridot groaned, getting up from her bed and rubbing her face. 

"Maybe a shower will help..." She whined to herself, grabbing her toiletry bag and towel. 

After leaving the room, and locking it, she made her way down the dorms hall, walking into the large bathroom with toilet stalls on one side and shower stalls on the other. Only separated by a wall with hand washing sinks. There was no one there, which she didn't mind what-so-ever. 

She choose the stall all the way towards the back, setting her stuff down on the bench inside and latching the door behind her. Once she figured it was safe she started to undress, careful as she took off her pants.

Once they were off, she stood there for a moment, looking down at her knees, then where her prosthetic legs started. 

It had been years since the accident, but even the sight of them still made her stomach hurt, causing her hands to shake as she desperately tried to feel something where there was nothing.

'Just breath...' She thought, closing her eyes for a moment and steadying herself before carefully walking into the shower. 

____________________________

Peridot's shower must've been longer then she originally thought, because when she got back into the room there was Garnet, sitting in her bed relaxing a bit. 

"Howdy." She said, making a finger gun at Peridot.

The shorter of the two looked at her for a second, kind of surprised and confused when she looked at the time, realizing her shower really wasn't that long after all. "....Hey. You're back kind of early..." She said, walking over to her dresser and going through some drawers. 

Garnet didn't really say anything, which just made Peridot a little more uncomfortable as she pulled on the fresh garments. 

"How long has it been since you've left the dorms?" Garnet asked, finally breaking the silence. "And I don't mean for stuff like school."

Peridot was completely caught off guard by the question. Not just because of what was asked, but also because that was the most she'd ever heard the other girl say. "Um...Since I moved in here... I guess. Why does it matter?" 

Garnet stared at Peridot for a long silent moment, or at least, Peridot thought she was staring, she couldn't tell because of the girls sunglasses. 

"Because staying inside all the time isn't healthy." She told Peridot, watching the girl put away a few things.

"No I-" Peridot sighed, looking over at her roommate. "Obviously I know that..." She mumbled, getting nervous when she saw Garnets blank expression. "I mean why does it matter to you?"

The silence that came could've killed Peridot. Here she was, already having mixed emotions from just the past week, and now? She thought she was going to explode! It was like someone she barely knew cared more about her well being then anyone in her whole entire family. It made her feel warm, and completely and utterly sick at the same time, she couldn't think of anything else to say. It wasn't helping either that Garnet choose now to be quiet again after starting the whole situation in the first place. 

Thankfully the tension was broken with a soft knock on the door. 

"Garnet." Came a small, sweet, voice which Peridot recognized as Pearls right away. "I know you said to wait outside... but it's getting kind of cold and I was wondering when we were leaving."

Garnet got up and opened the door once Pearl finished talking. "I'm almost ready Pearl." She said, inviting the slender girl in. 

Pearl smiled softly then looked at Peridot, a confused frown making its way past the smile as she entered. "Oh, I guess you're not ready yet." She said, noticing the sweet pants and hoodie Peridot was wearing.

"...Um excuse me?" Peridot said, all amusement leaving her voice. "Ready for what? I-" 

Quickly Peridot was cut off by Pearl looking at Garnet. "I thought you said Peridot was coming with us tonight." She stated, her cheeks a little flushed from embarrassment as she slowly started to realize what was going on. 

Before Peridot had a chance to object, Garnet quickly replied. "She is, she just has to get dressed." She lied, folding her arms over her chest after giving Pearl the keys to her car. "We'll be there in a minute." 

After exchanging a quick kiss Pearl left the room, not wanting to get caught up in whatever was about to happen. At this point though, Peridot was starting to assume that the two were together or dating. 

'Why are you thinking about that?!' She snapped at herself, groaning out loud before sitting on her bed, rubbing her face a bit. 

"Well, get dressed." Garnet said, sitting down on her bed as well, crossing one leg over the other. 

Peridot stayed put though, trying to think of anyway out of this situation. But, did she even want out of it? Sure, she liked being left to her own choices, she wasn't one for making friends or just hanging out with people, but a part of her kind of wanted something more then just school and video games. 

"... You're not going to take no for an answer... are you?" Peridot ask, kind of looking over her shoulder at the tall girl who was starting to be the cause of her new found anxiety.

"Nope." Was the only reply she got, making her smile, but only a little. 

"Alright... then get out so I can get ready." She said, trying to sound a little upset, but completely failing.

Garnet got up, sporting a smile as she headed towards the door. "We'll be outside then, you've got twenty minutes before I come back in and drag you out."

With that, Peridot was alone in the room, staring at the wall for a second before standing. If she was gonna go-, well, whatever they were taking her to do, then she might as well dress up just a little. So she walked over to her dresser, opening up various drawers and rummaging through her stuff. After a few moments though she sighed, closing them once again. 

"I don't have clothes for these kinds of situations." She mumbled to herself, rubbing her face once again before looking over at her closet. 

She had unpacked everything, for the most part, except for a box full of clothes her mother had bought for her before she left. Ms. Diamond had claimed they were 'more appropriate' for a girl Peridots age to wear, especially if she was going to leave the house. 

'There's no harm in taking a look...' The blonde thought, dragging the medium sized case out and opening it. 

Inside were several pairs of dress shirts and dress pants, all varying in color. Peridot groaned again, wondering why she expected anything different from her mother, a 'top notch' business woman. Before she was about to toss the case back into the closet and forget about it forever, possibly burn it later, she noticed a green plaid flannel at the very bottom of the case, causing her to smile just a bit. Pulling it out made her smile even more. Maybe her mother did listen, even just for a moment. She got over the warm feeling in her stomach quickly, standing up and getting dressed. 

For throwing some stuff on Peridot felt like she looked pretty good. The outfit she ending up with consisted of her favorite black jeans, some green high tops, a pretty simple green t-shirt, her newly discovered green flannel just over the shirt (with the sleeves rolled up a bit) and a beanie she bought two years ago covering up her messy blonde spikes. 

________________________________

 

Garnet and Pearl had been waiting a little over twenty minutes.

"I'm going in to get her." Garnet stated, unbuckling her seatbelt just before Peridot finally walked out, looking around the parking lot. 

Reaching her hand in front of Garnet, Pearl honked the horn a bit, waving when Peridot quickly looked in their direction.

"Guess you didn't have to." Pearl teased, sliding her hand into her tall girlfriends and lacing their fingers together. 

Garnet said nothing back, but gave the pale girl a soft smile before Peridot opened the back passenger door, hopping in.

"Sorry..." The blonde said, slowly buckling up and leaning back against the seat. 

"It's okay, no need to apologize." Pearl said, turning back and giving Peridot a warm smile. "We're still on time to go pick up Amethyst and Steven." She added, turning to face the windshield as Garnet pulled out of the parking lot. 

"Wait, more people are joining us?" Peridot asked, sitting up again. 

Hanging out with Garnet and Pearl tonight was already pushing her limit, but now their were two more people joining them! Not to mention she didn't even know who the heck these people were. Sure, she didn't know Garnet and Pearl that well either, but at least she had a general idea about the two already!

"Their some friends of ours." Garnet chimed in, still keeping her eyes locked on the road. 

For some reason the words kind of put Peridot at ease, even though there was no real reason they should've. 

The ride was starting to get quiet, which obviously was normal for the two taller girls. Eventually though it started to be to much for Peridot. 

"Can we put some music on or something?" She asked rather nervously. 

Pearl smiled, turning on the radio and switching to a classical music station. "You're gonna wish it was quiet once Amethyst and Steven are here." She commented, tapping her fingers against the dashboard in time with the piano that came into the soft music.

"What do y-" Peridot started to ask, but was quickly cut off by Garnet. "We're here, text Steven."

The car stopped in front of some crummy looking apartments that had only three floors. The paint was faded and the grass surrounding them looked like it had been dead for years. Not to mention some of the doors to the small balconies looked like they would fall off at the slightest breeze.

Peridot would've made more observations if she hadn't noticed the two people running to the car, obviously shouting something. 

One of them was a girl, barely reaching past peridots own height, with really long hair that had been bleached. She was plump in all the right places and had a light, beautiful, tan across her almost perfect skin. The other was some guy that was almost Garnets height, sporting some really curly black hair and a slightly chubby face. He was kind of thin, only a little pug around his gut, and had almost pale skin, if it wasn't for his natural skin tone. 

Suddenly the back drivers door swung open and Peridot could finally hear the two chanting. 

"Party! Party! PARTY!" The yelled, laughing at one another as the got in, the girl sitting right next to the short blonde and claiming the middle seat. 

"Whoa, who's the newbie?" Amethyst asked, kind of looking Peridot up, which made her a little nervous. 

"Come on Ame, don't be rude." The boy said, looking over the plump girl as he closed the door, giving Peridot a warm welcoming smile. "Hey there! My names Steven!" 

"Peridot here is Garnets new roommate." Pearl said, still holding Garnets hand as Steven buckled up and the car started to move. "She's coming with us tonight." 

Amethyst rolled her eyes, looking at Peridot again. "Obviously she's coming with us." She stated, nudging the blondes arm softly. "I'm Amethyst, you know, the total rockstar of the group!"

The girl was loud, and Peridot was starting to realize what Pearl had meant earlier. 

"More like the total dumbass of the group..." Pearl mumbled, smirking when Steven chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Hey! Don't act like you don't love this dumbass P." Amethyst said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Hmmm." Is all she got in reply, which she didn't mind, just turning her attention back to the blonde next to her. 

"Sooo. What's you do for fun girl?" She asked, nudging Peridot again. 

"Um...." Peridot was almost at her limit, this was really starting to be to much, or at least SHE was starting to be to much. "I'm usually just on my laptop... either studying or messing around on GuildWars 2..." She stammered, kind of blushing when she realized Amethyst was fake snoring now.

"Boooorrrring! Come on there's gotta be other things you do!" The loud girl said, looking at her expectantly. 

"Amethyst tone it down," Came Garnets soft monotone voice, "And stop pestering Peridot." 

"Ugh you guys are no fun..." She whined again, letting her hair fall in her face. 

"I-I can be fun." Peridot said, kind of looking down at her lap, wondering why she felt the need to impress the girl all the sudden. "I'm joining you guys tonight for.... well whatever we're doing." 

"Wait, you don't even know where we're going? OH! This is priceless!" Amethyst shouted, her enthusiasm returning to her. "I'm so gonna make this the best night of your life!" 

Amethyst surprisingly strong arm wrapped around Peridots small shoulders, causing her tense up a bit, but slowly she started to smile. 

Whatever happened, Peridot was ready to have some sort of fun. 

"There it is!" Steven shouted in excitement, his eyes looking as if stars were present. 

Peridot quickly looked out the window, seeing a big neon sign reading 'The Temple'. It took her only a moment to realize that she was about to spend her Saturday at an LGBT night club with four people she barely knew.

____________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that these first two chapters haven't been that long! Things are hectic with school work and the holidays around the corner. I'll try my best to compose my future chapters better.


	3. The Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hesitantly Amethyst moved out of the way, letting Garnet get in the car and sit next to Peridot. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable, her knees almost reaching up to her chest, but she stayed there. 
> 
> "We'll be there in a minute." She told Pearl, causing the thin girl to smile and nod understandingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took two weeks! It's been hectic here with Christmas around the corner!

Peridot was hesitant to leave the car, starting to wonder why she let Garnet get her out of the dormitories. 

"Yo Dottie come on!" Amethyst said, hopping out once Steven had joined Garnet and Pearl outside. "I need to get my drink on!" 

But the short blonde just sat there, unsure of what to do. Her heart was starting to pound in her throat, causing her to shake ever so slightly. 

"Peri come on!" Amethyst said, obviously not noticing what a wreck the girl was turning into. Just as she was about to reach in and grab Peridot a strong hand come forward and stopped her.

Amethyst jumped a little, quickly looking at the hand that was on her shoulder. Garnet looked down and the short, plump, girl, wearing her usual expressionless face. 

"Let me talk to her." She said softly, causing Amethyst to cross her arms and blow her bangs out of her hazel eyes. 

Hesitantly Amethyst moved out of the way, letting Garnet get in the car and sit next to Peridot. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable, her knees almost reaching up to her chest, but she stayed there. 

"We'll be there in a minute." She told Pearl, causing the thin girl to smile and nod understandingly. 

Once the two were alone the car was silent, causing Peridot to calm down just a bit, but it was obvious just how distressed she was about the situation. Why did she always do this? It's not like the night club was the cause of her anxiety. The alcohol and loud music didn't faze her either, but the whole idea of being around so many people, who were dancing and having the time of their lives was what got to her. Sure she could drink, and have fun, make jokes, maybe flirt with... well someone, but the dancing. Just the thought of it made her legs hur-. She sighed, some tears starting to form as she looked down at her lap, letting her hands touch the outside of her pants, felling where the prosthetics were attached threw the fabric. 

"Peridot." Came a soft voice into her clouded thoughts. 

The blonde quickly looked up, letting a tear roll down her cheek as she realized she wasn't alone. 

"S-Sorry..." She said quietly, quickly moving her glasses and wiping the tear away, which only made more start to fall. 

Peridot cursed at herself, wiping the other ones away and trying to collect herself. After a second though she realized the tears weren't just going to stop. Silently she started to sob, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as tight as she could, desperately trying to feel something.

"Peridot." Came the voice again, but a bit sterner this time. 

"....You shouldn't have brought me." The blonde choked out, hiding her face in her knees. 

Garnet didn't reply, but she did reach over and start to rub the smaller girls back, making Peridot lift her head up in shock. Her eyes meet the taller girls for the first time, causing her to just stare. What she say was an unnatural, but beautiful, crystal blue color, paired with a more natural hazel color. 

"You need to calm down." Came the sweet British voice once again. "I don't know what's the matter, but I do know you shouldn't let something effect you like this." 

All the while she was talking, she continued to rub the trembling girls back, helping her to slowly regain her composure. Peridot knew Garnet was right, heck, she'd known since she first got her prosthetics that she should be happy that nothing worse had happened. At the same time though she couldn't help but dwell on the situation. She'd lost her legs, and that was something you couldn't get back. Something that she felt she desperately needed back. 

"Come on," Garnet said, getting out of the car once Peridots crying had subsided. "We're gonna go have fun." 

The short blonde looked up, noticing that the sunglasses had made their way back over Garnets eyes. She couldn't help but smile at her roomma-... her friend, slowly getting out of the car. 

"Alright, but I'm not going to drink that much." She mumbled, crossing her arms a bit while still sporting a smile, which made Garnet crack a small one.

"That's gonna be hard with Amethyst around." The taller one said, walking up to the entrance with Peridot by her side. 

_____________________________

Garnet wasn't kidding. Not even an hour into the night Amethyst had somehow gotten Peridot to down a Blue Hawaiian, two Mojitos and two shots of whiskey, and boy was she feeling it. 

"Come ooooonnnn, you have to at least play some sort of video game..." The buzzed blonde said, talking with Pearl and Garnet who were still on their first drinks. 

"Well, I've played some phone games, it that counts." Pearl said, her arm linked around Garnets almost protectively as other girls in the club would come around and eye up the two.

Peridot sighed in annoyance, using a stool to keep herself steady. "No... it doesn't..." 

The short blonde had clumsily made her way onto the stool, deciding to actually sit on it instead of just lay across it. Once she was up against the bar though, she regretted it instantly. 

"Yo P-Dot take another shot with me and Steven." Came Amethyst's voice, a bit softer then her usual tone.

All Peridot could do was shake her head a bit, causing her to get a bit dizzy. She was definitely going to feel this in the morning.

"Oh come on! Just one more to celebrate you first night with the squad!" The plump girl insisted, slowly sliding the shot over to the intoxicated girl.

She looked at the glass defeated and sighed, grabbing it and looking at the two people she had meet just tonight. "....You know, at first I thought this night was just going to be a waist of time." Peridot said, looking down at the dark liquid in her glass. "But... it's definitely exceeding all of my expectations so far."

This made the two next to her smile, causing Steven to stand up. "Now lets go have some fun!" He shouted, downing the burning liquid in one solid motion.

Amethyst quickly followed his example, slamming the glass down once she was done. Peridot on the other hand had to take two separate swigs, coughing once the liquid finally made its way down into her stomach. 

"Yeah! Go Peri!" The loudest of the bunch yelled, throwing a fist in the air, but all Peridot could do was grunt before placing her head on the bar. 

Steven was quick to pull back his enthusiasm from earlier, looking at the small blonde with concern. "Peridot, I think you're definitely cut off for the evening..." He stated, looking over at Amethyst who just shrugged a bit. 

"She's cut off, I'm not gonna get her to drink anymore." Amethyst said, looking at Steven with a serious face until his eased up.

"...Okay. Well I'm gonna do look for Sour Cream and Buck, I think they said Sour Cream was the DJ tonight." The tall boy stated, starting to head towards the source of the thumping music. "Keep an eye on her Ame."

"Aye Aye Captain." Is all she replied with before looking at Peridot, kinda of shorting a softer expression now. "How you feeling Peri?"

The blonde just grunted, forcing herself to sit up again. "I'll be fine... I just regret drinking so much." She sighed, looking at Amethyst with a goofy smile. "I really need some water...."

Not even two minutes later Amethyst had a large bottle of water sitting in front of the short blonde. 

"Come on, take sips, not drinks." She said, sighing when she had to open it for her too. 

Peridot did what see was told, setting the bottle down after awhile and laughing softly. "I'm gonna regret this in the morning..." She mumbled, looking over at Amethyst who seemed to be lost in thought. 

Nothing was said for awhile, which was unsettling to the short blonde. Had she said something wrong? Or was this just how Amethyst acted when she drank? 

The silence was finally broken when Amethyst looked over at Peridot. "It's better to regret something that you've done, then regret having done nothing..." 

This definitely made Peridot's original assumption of the girl being nothing but loud and crazy crumble. 

"....That's deep." Is all she could say in reply, looking at the water bottle in front of her. 

"It's true... why spend your life playing it safe when you can go out and do something? Get drunk, go dance, flirt, travel, fight, sing, laugh, cry, gamble, chase.... love. Life's meant for us to go out and be free, so we can figure out who we are, not just sit around and let other people determine it for us. Fuck labels."

It seemed as if Amethyst could go on forever, and Peridot wouldn't have minded listening, if it wasn't for the fact Garnet and Pearl had finally made it over to them. 

"You two getting along?" Pearl asked, leaning against Garnet a bit. 

"Yep, just laying down some truth!" Amethyst replied, seeming to get some of her normal energetic demeanor back. "I was thinking about dragging this one to the dance floor too, Sour Cream usually starts playing the faster music later into the night." 

Just like that, the music started to pick up and people started cheering, racing towards the middle of the building. 

"Yay! Come on guys lets go!" Amethyst shouted, trying to be heard out in the now booming place. 

Peridots whole body froze, causing her to just stare at the ground. 'You can do this... it's just like she said, regret doing something then nothing.'

She closed her eyes, taking in a breath before getting off the stool, trying to gain her balance. Once she felt like she was ready she looked at the three, very different, girls standing in front of her and smiled. 

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"  
____________________________

The night couldn't have gone better for Peridot, she dance with her new friends, had a few more shots, and even flirted with a few people. While the night was a success though, the morning almost split the blondes head in two. 

"Uhhh.... someone kill me..." She whined, pulling her pillow over her face and dig further into the bed, trying to hide from the world.

Peridot would've gone back to sleep, if it wasn't for the fact that she heard voices making their way to her door. With a soft sigh, she sat up, just as the door opened and revealed Garnet and Amethyst. 

"Someone looks hungover as fuck!" Amethyst roared, causing the small blonde to groan and cover her ears a bit. 

The two walked in quickly and closed the door, walking over to Peridots bed and handing her a bottle of water and some sort of breakfast bar. 

"You need to rehydrate and nourish yourself." Is all that Garnet said before getting up an heading to her side of the small room. 

Peridot stared at her then looked at Amethyst who was chuckling. "You'll get use to it, G-Man is definitely a character, just like yours truly!" 

"Yeah, you're definitely something else..." Peridot grumbled, sipping the water and trying to ignore her throbbing migraine as she ate.

It was quiet for awhile, well, as quiet as it could be with Amethyst there. The three chatted about the night's events for a bit once Peridot started to feel a bit more up for conversation. 

"Oh and when P-Dot totally started flirting with that one chick! That was priceless!" Amethyst almost cried, making the short blonde blush a bit. "I didn't even know you liked girls!" 

"N-Neither did I..." Peridot admitted, finishing her water. "I've never exactly.... never mind." She sighed, throwing herself back onto her bed. 

The plump Latina looked down at her, raising her eyebrow and smirking a bit. "Never exactly what?" She asked, absolutely bubbling. 

This even grabbed Garnets attention, causing the quiet girl to get up from her bed and come over. "You can't start something like that and not finish." She said, pushing her sunglasses up.

Looking at the two girls in front of her Peridot started to wonder if this is what it was like to have friends, people who were there to laugh at you, comfort you, help you get over a hangover, and pester you for information. It felt nice, amazing even. Being homeschool had really taken away a lot from her, not to mention that even her mother wasn't there to talk to her, or at least make her feel less alone. 

"I-I've never exactly.... dated anyone... or really even kissed someone..." She finally admitted, blushing harder when Amethyst gasped. 

"Dude! No way! Aren't you like- well, obviously twenty-one or older? How have you never smooched someone?! Or even-" She started yelling, getting cut off quickly by Garnet.

"It's okay Peridot, before I meet Pearl I was the same way." She said, crossing her arms and leaning against a dresser. "It's not easy socializing with people, let alone date people, even when you're surround by them." 

The short blonde was taken back by the tall girl in front of her again, not matter the situation Garnet always seemed to know what to say. 

"....We can totally help you out too." Amethyst said, having brought herself down a few levels again. "But first we need to figure out if you like girls or boys." She said, winking a bit. 

"We'll assume both right now?" Peridot said, shrugging a bit. 

She'd never really tried to notice anyone in a sexual manner before, so who was she to judge by gender. 

"Well, lucky for you I'm the ultimate wingman!" Amethyst said, throwing her fist in the air. "I guaranteed that by midterms we'll have you with some hot stud or babe!" 

Peridot laughed, rolling her eyes a bit as the loud girl laughed and Garnet shook her head, messing up Amethyst hair. This quarter was definitely turning out to be something. 

________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Time Flies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the next five minutes all the short blonde could do was stare at her phone screen, trying hard to think of at least one good memory with her and her mother face to face. Sadly she came up empty, which only made her heart sink more. Peridot wanted to hate her mother, she wanted to be able to say that her childhood was nothing but a dark empty house with an occasional phone call, but at the same time she knew that it wasn't fair.

~"And you're sure you have everything you need?"~ Came a clear, strong voice from the other end of Peridot's phone.

"Yes ma'am, I'm quite content at the moment." Is all Peridot could manage to say. 

It's only been a month and this had been the fourth time her mother had called her. This had to have been the most she had called Peridot in the past five years.

'Maybe she finally knows what it's like to come home to an empty house.' She thought, barely taking notice of the long silence that had started to form over the other end. 

~"I miss you, sweetheart."~ 

Peridots heart could've stopped, she knew that something like this would happen, but she never imagined her mother actually admitting her feeling. Miss Green was a very strong headed woman, who often explained to Peridot that emotions were best kept to the side, that way no one could ever tell the truth from the mask. 

"I miss you too mom..." She replied, sitting up in her bed a bit and hugging her knees to her chest. "You know I'm not going to be gone forever... there's winter break and holidays. I could always come visit."

~"If I was home more I'd say you should, but more than likely I'll be working, you know that."~ 

There she was, the business lady Peridot was so use to hearing from. 

"Yeah... I know." She sighed, letting her legs hang over the bed. "But I have to go mom, I'm meeting up with some classmates for a study group." 

~"Of course, of course. Well, I hope you have a goodnight sweetheart, I love you."~

"I love you too, mom." With that Peridot sat there quietly, feeling oddly empty once the other end of the line cut off. 

For the next five minutes all the short blonde could do was stare at her phone screen, trying hard to think of at least one good memory with her and her mother face to face. Sadly she came up empty, which only made her heart sink more. Peridot wanted to hate her mother, she wanted to be able to say that her childhood was nothing but a dark empty house with an occasional phone call, but at the same time she knew that it wasn't fair. Her mother had given up any kind of meaningful relationship they could've had together so that they could have the finer things in life, and so that Peridot could have a higher education then most. Yet here she was, living in the dorms at a community college, when she could've gone to Yale or Stanford, probably even Harvard. 

'So much for making the most out of all that lost time.' She thought, squeezing her phone before falling back onto her bed. 

___________________________________

"Come on Amethyst, this ones easy." Pearl groaned, obviously getting frustrated with the short Hispanic who was playing with her pencil instead of working on her trigonometry assignment. 

"But P, this is soooo boring! Why can't I just do it later?" Amethyst whined, laying her face across her textbook.

"Because you won't, for one, and two, if you don't bring your grades up you won't be able to join the basketball team this year." Pearl explained, crossing her arms triumphantly when Amethyst gave in and started actually working, despite all the things she was cursing under her breathe.

Peridot looked up from her work to peek a glance over at the homework duo. 

"So do they always work together?" She asked, looking up at Garnet who was obviously staring Pearl down instead of the history assignment in front of her. 

"Yeah, it's because when we all work together Pearl and I get distracted with one another, then Amethyst just stops working." The tall girl said, slowly and reluctantly taking her eyes off her adorable girlfriend. "And I need her to keep her grades up this year so she doesn't get kicked off the team."

"I didn't even know you two played sports.... well, at least not Amethyst, she looks more like the kind of girl who's into cooking than sports." The short blonde teased, getting a chuckle and thumbs up from the tall athletic girl in front of her. 

"Oh ho ho, you talking smack P-Dot?" Amethyst chimed in, obviously annoying Pearl with the lack of focus on the task at hand. 

It was obvious that out of the small group Pearl and Peridot were definitely the more academically gifted, though Garnet would definitely be more in that category if it wasn't for the fact that she was more into sports, a long with Amethyst. Steven was more of the artist, being in concert band, jazz band, and another local band that played at The Temple every now and again. It's not to say that they focused solely on those things. Pearl was also into ballet, and Peridot enjoyed programming software and just overall messing around with technology. Amethyst was really into one night stands and Steven loved reading graphic novels. While Garnet's favorite past time just seemed to be either Pearl, or group outings.

"If by 'smack' you mean making fun of you then yes, I am." The blonde stated, earning herself a high five from Garnet and Steven. 

"Well jokes on you! I actually do like cooking." The Hispanic stated, smiling brightly as if she had won the battle.

"If you call ramen and chip burritos cooking...." Pearl chimed in, getting an exasperated sigh from Amethyst while everyone else chuckled. 

"How many times do I have to tell you I was experimenting!" Amethyst spit out, causing a small argument to break out between the two while everyone else watched. 

"Um, should we do something?" Peridot whispered to Garnet, starting to feel uncomfortable. 

"They get like this sometimes, eventually they'll knock it off." Garner said, which seemed to happen as she mapped out the normal situations. "Apologize to one another briefly." And again, as if she was tell as story, the two started apologizing. "And then Pearl will get everyone back on track."

"Okay now that's over with, let's finish up." Pearl said, slowly getting back to her outgoing perky self.

"Wow..." Was the only thing that the short blonde could manage to say. 

"Hey guys, I know we're busy and everything but I feel like we should go have some fun tonight..." Steven said, finally saying something after focusing on his work for some time. "I mean it's already been like two weeks, I think we all deserve a break." 

At this point no one could really focus on anything, kind of taking in Stevens suggestion. 

"I suppose we could, if Amethyst gets all her assignments done before we go." Garnet said, making Steven and Amethyst both groan.

"Come on! It's gonna take me like, hours to do this!" Amethyst whined, looking at Garnet with pleading eyes. 

It was obvious that the tall girl had to look away, otherwise she'd give in.

"Stop being so dramatic, I'm sure if you'd just focus on it for a bit you'd be done in an hour." Pearl said, crossing her arms.

"I'll even let you drive tonight if you get done." Garnet added, obviously making Pearl uncomfortable at the thought. 

"Oooh ho ho! You're on!" Amethyst shouted, making Pearl even more jittery. 

"Hey! Why don't I ever get the chance to drive?" Steven objected.

"Because you don't have your license and can't legally drive unless your dad is around." Amethyst teased, getting shoved playfully by Steven before he started trying to help.

"Garnet are you sure?" Pearl asked, concern ringing through her voice. 

"Amethyst can handle driving a short distance." Garnet countered, giving the short Hispanic a thumbs up before playfully pulling her concerned girlfriend into her lap, causing a fit a giggles to escape her lips.

Peridot felt like she needed to look away once the two started to kiss, feeling as if she was intruding on them. Also because she was a bit envious, if she was being completely honest. She could barely imagine how it felt just to kiss someone, let alone being in love with the person, which she assumed they had to be. What else could explain the way they looked at one another? It must be nice, just feeling so strongly for someone, and having them return that feeling. 

_________________________________

"I mean I like The Temple, but can't we go to a normal club for once?" Steven whined from the back seat. "I wanna be able to flirt with some girls for once without the whole 'sorry I'm gay' spill." 

All Amethyst could do was laugh, trying hard to keep her eyes forward as she parked behind some pick-up truck.

"I mean it is a gay club dude, what did you expect?" She asked, surprised Pearl hadn't said one thing about her driving, though that was quickly dismissed once Amethyst looked back and saw the ying and yang couple in the middle of a make out session.

"I know it's a gay club! And I don't mind getting hit on by some guys, but for once it'd be nice if I could actually score a cute girl or something..." Steven said, kind of pouting in the back seat now.

"We'll see what we can do Steven." Pearl chimed in, finally breaking away from Garnet for a moment. "I'm sure there's at least some girls in there that are also into handsome young men like yourself." 

That seemed to perk Steven up right away, causing the young boy to regain all his enthusiasm from earlier. 

"Right, and while you two look for a girl for Steven, in between smooch fest, I'm gonna make sure P-Dot at least tries to talk to someone while she's sober this time." Amethyst said, teasing the short blonde who had started to feel a bit out of place in the passenger seat. 

It was starting to look like alcohol and attempted flirting were going to become a weekend ritual for Peridot.

__________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soooo sorry this took so long! I swear I didn't forget! I've just been so busy with school! So to make up for it I wrote four chapters for you guys! I'll be posting one today, tomorrow (1/28/17), Sunday (1/29/17) and Monday (1/30/17)!


	5. Ruby's Diner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I know better then to corner a terrified animal." Garner said, going back to packing her small bag. "If someone doesn't feel comfortable explaining things it's best not to pry."
> 
> 'Says the girl who literally had a whole pep talk with me to get out of her car a few weeks ago.' Peridot thought, slowly getting out of bed.

As the sun came up and started to shine into their room all Peridot could hear was a quick, pained, voice groan before the blinds in their room were closed by her much taller roommate. 

They'd only been home for about five hours, but Peridot was already feeling the need to get up and move around. 

"Hey Garnet?" The short blonde said into the air, waiting patiently for a response.

".... Yeah?" Came a quiet British accent, which seemed just a little annoyed, probably because she was way more hungover then Peridot.

"We should go get something to eat..." Peridot suggested, slowly sitting up from her now messy bed while trying to wipe away some excess makeup on her face.

Last night at The Temple had been a bit more... eventful, then everyone originally thought. As luck would have it Steven ran into a girl, about his age, who was in a similar situation as him; being dragged to a gay club by their friends when they were straight. The two hit it off, actually having a decent amount in common, before deciding to meet up again next weekend. Steven refused to call it a date but his four female friends wouldn't call it anything else, only making it more of a point to call their get together a date when he objected, saying they were just grabbing something to eat.

"I'm in a mood for like pancakes or something..." The blonde said, stretching out her swore bones before grabbing her toiletries bag and a fresh towel. 

"Yeah alright... I know a place, we'll meet up with everyone in an hour." Garnet groaned, pulling a pillow over her face as Peridot opened their door to the brightly lit hallway.

She made sure to close it quickly, knowing the light probably made someone like Garnet flinch already, she couldn't imagine how much worse it could've been while hungover.

Once she was in the bathroom, taking the back shower stall out of habit now, Peridot took her clothes off and turned on some warm water. Before getting in though she sat down on the bench just outside of the shower head, slowly taking her prosthetics off so she could properly clean herself. This was a weekly routine. It would've been more frequent, but she was still to scared to look at herself, having to close her eyes even while she washed the spot were her legs use to be. 

________________________________

By the time Peridot had put her prosthetics back on, showered and ever got dressed, Garnet was already up and pretty much ready to go. Both of them dressed rather casual for the day. 

"How is it you bounce back so quickly?" The short blonde asked, sitting down on her bed and pulling out her laptop.

"Just can I guess." The taller girl replied, putting on her prescription sunglasses before turning on the rooms light. " also don't get to comfortable, Pearl and Amethyst are already on their way. Stevens got band practice later today so he's not coming."

With that Peridot closed her laptop once again, kind of regretting the fact that she hadn't worked on her programs more yesterday. 

"They also wanted to go swimming afterwards, so you should pack up some stuff." The taller of the two suggested, grabbing an empty bag and throwing a few clothing items into it

'Swimming? Oh no no no no!' Peridot thought, looking over at her roommate as she tried to come up with some sort of excuse.

"I-I'm not much of a swimmer... if anything I'll just hang out on the side lines..." Was all she could manage to come up with, and with no surprise her roommate stopped what she was doing to look at her, or at least she was sure Garnet was looking at her, it was always hard to tell with those sunglasses in the way.

"Okay." Was the last thing Peridot expected to come out of Garnet's mouth. 

"Okay?" The short blonde asked, kind of fixing her glasses a bit as if she was trying to figure out what had just happened.

"I know better then to corner a terrified animal." Garner said, going back to packing her small bag. "If someone doesn't feel comfortable explaining things it's best not to pry."

'Says the girl who literally had a whole pep talk with me to get out of her car a few weeks ago.' Peridot thought, slowly getting out of bed.

"So... where are we going for breakfast anyway?" The short blonde finally asked, getting uncomfortable with the silence that was starting to fill the room.

"You'll see." Was the only response she got before some loud knocks and bickering voices came from behind there door.

_____________________________

"Oh yeaaahhh! Amethyst is in the house!" Yelled the short Hispanic once the group walked through the doors of a small and cozy looking diner. 

"So what's so special about this place?" Peridot asked as she looked around at the rather empty establishment.

"Oh you'll see P-Dot." Amethyst gleamed, wrapping her arm around the blonde girls shoulders. "This is definitely the my favorite hangout spot!"

Before Peridot could inquire more a loud but excited voice broke through the seemingly quiet dinning area.

"Sapphire! The girls are here! And a new one!" Shouted a short, rather busty, woman with dark skin that almost resembled Garnets. Now that Peridot was looking at her full on though the middle aged woman seemed to resemble her quiet roommate even more, down to her rounded nose and frizzy hair. 

"Wait, is that-" Peridot started to ask, but was quickly cut off by a softer, almost sweeter, voice that came from behind the small group. 

"Garnet, you didn't tell us you were all stopping by."

Once they turned around to face who ever just spoke, they were greater by another woman who seemed to be the same height as the first. She was a lot thinner and had much simpler proportions, however, and a much lighter skin tone. Her hair seemed to fall over her face ever so slightly too, covering up her eyes.

"Sorry mom, wasn't really planned out, just figured we show up." Garnet said, kneeling down a bit to embrace Sapphire as the first woman walked over, sporting a big smile. 

"Don't forget about me kiddo." She said, pulling Garnet down for a tight hug. 

"It's nice to seem you again Ruby, Sapphire." Pearl said, smiling sweetly as she was embraced next.

Amethyst rushed up and hugged both of them at the same time, only letting go once Sapphire started to pull away. 

"Nice to see you too Amethyst." Sapphire laughed, fixing her apron a bit.

"Say, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" Ruby chimed in, smiling softly at Peridot as everyone ended their idle conversation for a moment. 

"I was getting there mama." Garnet said, standing straight once again. "This is my roommate Peridot." 

"It's nice to meet you?" The short blonde said, waving awkwardly, still not sure how to handle this situation. 

Out of nowhere though Peridot was brought into a tight embrace as Ruby laughed. 

"No need for formalities here, any friend of our daughter is practically family to us!" Ruby said, walking over to Sapphire who gave an approving nod as Ruby reached over and took Sapphire's hand. "In fact where's Steven, he usually comes with you three."

"He's got band practice later." Garnet said, sliding her hand into Pearls before fixing her glasses. 

"Well that's to bad, I finally got figured out that recipe for the chocolate raspberry French toast he wanted." Sapphire said, kissing Ruby's cheek before pulling her back behind the counter. "You should go sit down, we'll make all your regulars."

Amethyst didn't have to be told twice and went a took a seat at the booth closest to the front counter, taking one of the corner seats. 

"What do you want short stack?" Ruby asked Peridot, still sporting a bright smile.

'You're one to talk.' The slightly taller blonde thought, unable to stop herself from smiling. 

"Um... just some pancakes is fine, I'm not really one for anything too complicated." Peridot said, shoving her hands into her hoodies pockets.

"Pancakes it is then! You'll love them! Sapphire is an amazing cook!" She said, making her way to the order window. 

With that the lone made her way to the booth were everyone already seemed situated. Garnet and Pearl sitting on one side and Amethyst eagerly waiting for Peridot to take the spot next to her. 

"So, I'm guessing it's named Ruby's Diner because she's the first face you see?" The short blonde inquired after sitting down with her friends. 

"That, and mom didn't like the idea of calling it 'Sapphire's' or 'Ruby and Sapphire's'. She a not one for publicity." Garnet said, gently pulling Pearl closer to her so that they could kind of cuddle while they waited. 

Peridot nodded, now seeing we're Garnet got her quiet demeanor. 

"Sooo what do you think! Aren't Ruby and Sapphire like the best?!" Amethyst nearly shouted, causing the quieter clientele to look over at the louder table.

"You just like the free food." Pearl teased, leaning into her much taller girlfriend.

"That's so not true!" The short Hispanic girl objected, playfully kicking the thin girl from under the table. 

"They seem really nice." Peridot chimed in, kind of looking in the direction of the two older woman who were busy cooking and having idle conversations with their other guests. "I'm guessing Ruby is your biological parent though, right Garnet?" 

From the silence that seemed to come over the table, and the timid looks coming from Pearl and Amethyst, the short blonde started to realize that she probably brought up a sensitive subject. 

"I-I'm sorry I didn't m-"

"It's fine Peridot." Garnet said softly, not showing even the slightest bit of annoyance, which seemed to surprise the other two. "But I was actually adopted. Neither of them are biologically related to me, however, they're both still my mothers, and they always will be." 

"Oh, well that's kind of cool." The short blonde admitted, sporting a timid smile. "I mean you look so much like Ruby that I couldn't even tell." 

Everyone started to laugh and agreed, keeping up a lively conversation about last nights events until Ruby and Sapphire showed up with their food. 

"You look kind of thin so I brought you some bacon short stack." Ruby told Peridot, winking a bit before setting down a second, smaller, plate with a few slices of the crispy breakfast strips next to her generous plate of pancakes.

"And we got you a bowl of fresh fruit to go with your oatmeal Pearl." Sapphire said, pouring Garnet, Amethyst and Peridot a cup of coffee before handing Pearl a cup of hot water and some tea packets as Pearl thanked her. "Do you want some cream and sugar Peridot? I'm about to go grab some for Amethyst and thought I'd offer." 

"Some sugar is fine, thank you." The short blonde said, smiling happily now. 

"You girls need anything else?" Ruby asked, staying behind as Sapphire walked off to grab the sugar and cream. 

"We're fine mama, thank you, it's perfect." Garnet said, smiling at her and letting Pearl sit up so they could both eat. 

"Alright, come get me before you all leave though, I wanna hear what you've been up to!" The short woman said, walking off quickly to attend to some of their other guests.

______________________________

There was little conversation as the four ate happily, well, besides Amethyst and her usual shenanigans.

"I mean come on P-Dot, even Steven found some one! I mean that's like a one in a million chance!" Amethyst remarked, taking a big bite out of her eggs. 

"Remind me why you're so concerned about me and my love life?" The short blonde asked, taking another bite out of her pancakes, which she was falling in love with. They we soft and fluffy while being a little crisp at the bottom, definitely way better then the toaster ones she use to eat.

"I'm concerned because you're my age and it's non-existent!" The Hispanic said in-between bites.

The two of them would've gone back and forth like this until they were walking out of the diner, but out of nowhere someone had walked up to their table, which caught everyone's attention. It was a man, probably around their age, who was a bit shorter than Garnet with short, kind of messy styled, brunette hair and hazel eyes.

"Hey there," Amethyst said, quickly taking interest in the handsome stranger. "Need something?" 

It was obvious he was kind of nervous, which was making the short blonde uncomfortable since she was on the outside seat of the booth.

"Um... I was just coming over..." He said, his voice in that kind of midrange octave. "I was just wondering... if I could get your name? I'm so sorry if this is weird..." 

At first everyone thought he was talking about Amethyst, and she almost burst it out, but once everyone realized he was talking to Peridot, the table was quiet. When the short blonde looked to her friends for advice though, all she received were taunting looks from Pearl and Amethyst, and a sturdy thumbs up from a smirking Garnet. 

"Her names Peridot!" Amethyst answered for her, putting her hands on the embarrassed girls shoulders. 

"Oh um.. my names Justin.. I-" He stated, and he was still actually talking, kind of awkwardly, but Peridot was kind of blocking it out ask her face started to scrunch up. 

After a few moments Justin left, but Peridot was still kind of zoned out, not noticing when Amethyst started to burst out laughing.

"Oh my god that was cute as fuck!" She cried, patting the distracted blondes back and bringing her back to reality.

"It was amusing to say the least." Pearl snickered quietly, leaning into Garnet who was trying not to laugh as well.

"That was weird..." Peridot finally said, which only made the group laugh harder. 

"P-Dot he was totally flirting with you!" Amethyst said, nudging her a bit. "And here I was, starting to think we wouldn't get anywhere." She teased.

"Was he?" The short blonde asked, looking over as he walked out. 

"You looked like you just ate something bad." Garnet said, causing Amethyst and Pearl to laugh again. 

Once everyone finally dropped the situation that just took place, they finished their food, and Peridot tried to ignore the phone number Amethyst was waving around.

______________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it, I figured I'd go with a little more this time around... though I kind of wished I could've done something better with the Justin scene.


	6. Hair Dye and Whiskey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst sighed, grabbing the dressed up nerd and pushing her towards the bar. "Look, part of getting out there is getting out of your comfort zone." Once they we sitting Amethyst finally let go of Peridot, leaning against the bar a bit before ordering them some shots to start off the night. "Besides, this is a gay bar, so you don't have to be concerned about flirting with anyone, just like The Temple, so just relax and have fun!" 

"Ugh!" Peridot groaned loudly, slumping over a small round table.

"Whoa P-Dot! Watch out for the food!" Amethyst said, sliding her food tray closer to her as the melodramatic blonde pressed her face down on the table with a thunk.

"Sorry Ame..." She mumbled, lifting her head again.

The two of them had agreed to start meeting up at the popular cafe next to the college campus to 'work' on Peridots 'love life'. In reality though the short blonde just let the plump Hispanic girl think whatever she wanted, as long as she could get coffee and work on some class work. There was already to many, uncomfortable, encounters that Peridot had gone through with the girl in the pass  several weeks, so there compromise was to 'try' online dating. Amethyst thought it was boring and stupid at first, but eventually gave in. 

"So I'm thinking we should totally try a bar instead of The Temple this weekend." Amethyst said, pulling Peridots focus from her work and thoughts.

"I thought the whole reason we went to the temple was because we weren't sure which way I 'swing' yet." The short blonde stated, making finger quotations before going back to the assignment on her laptop. 

"It's obvious which way you swing girl." The short Hispanic said, wobbling her eyebrows a bit before leaning back in her chair, causing it to squeak, as she took a drink from her Dr. Pepper.

"I mean come on, it was obvious the moment that guy started flirting with you last weekend at Ruby's." Amethyst recalled, letting the legs of her chair hit the floor and laughing a bit as the situation replayed in her head. "You looked like someone just spit in your coffee." 

The blush that crossed the blondes face only added gasoline to the fire of Amethyst's amusement.

"I-I mean come on!" Peridot protested, closing her laptop with a thunk, she'd hit herself for that later. "Who in their right mind wants a guy coming up to them when they're just trying to have breakfast with some friends?"

The way Amethyst looked at her made it obvious that she wasn't buying the explanation one little bit.

"Besides... he wasn't my type anyway..." Peridot groaned, rubbing her face as she tried to ignore the taunting expression the short Hispanic was making. 

"So tall and cute isn't your type?" Amethyst countered, quickly finishing her food. 

"Can we drop this?" The blonde whined, pressing her face against the table again, deep down just wishing that it could help her escape this situation. 

What was the whole point in genders anyway? Boy, girl, it was all the same to Peridot. They were just 

"Alright fine, yeash." Amethyst said, laughing a bit before getting up and stretching out, quickly putting her messy mane up in a pony tail. "Lets go then, we still need to go get ready for tonight." 

"Do we have to? I'd rather just go hang out with Pearl and Garnet...." Peridot mumbled.

"Come on you know they need their 'alone time', plus G-Man already said we'd all meet up with Steven tomorrow so we can get him ready for his date." Amethyst stated, sounding a little more mature then usual. "Besides we need some me and you time!"

"If by 'me and you time', you me you leaving me to 'get out there' while you go suck on someone's face." The short blonde said blatantly, giving Amethyst an unamused face.

"Hah! You know it!" She shouted, bumping shoulders with the nerdy blonde.

And with that the two grabbed their things and left the crowded cafe, walking back to Amethyst's apartment.   

      ___________________________________

As soon as Amethyst opened the door to her apartment, Peridot was surprised, slowly walking into the decently organized home.

"Wow, I have to say." The short blonde started, shoving her hands into her hoodies pocket. "This looks a lot nicer then I expected."

"Ugh..." Amethyst groaned, heading to the kitchen and grabbing an energy drink from the overly organized fridge. Everything looked labeled, dated and even in order shelf wise. 

There was a loud hissing sound that filled the room as the short Hispanic girl opened her sugary drink, sitting herself up on the counter as she took a long drink.

"Steven's been cleaning since last weekend, said he needed a cleaner, healthier living space." She groaned, quickly finishing the carbonated drink and crushing the can with her bare hands. "I told him he could do what he wanted, as long as he left my room alone. But enough about that!" 

Amethyst jumped down and grabbed the nerdy blonde, dragging her into the bathroom Steven and Amethyst probably shared. 

"Part of going out is dressing up girl!" The short Hispanic girl shouted, sporting a ridiculously big smile while placing Peridot in front of the mirror. "And you need a makeover!" 

"What wrong with my look?" Peridot asked, kind of frowning now as she looked in the mirror. 

For the most part she didn't see anything wrong. Her hair was on the messier side, and she looked like she could use a few hours more in bed, but she felt like there was nothing wrong with that. Then she finally realized it was probably what she was wearing. Her once lime green hoodie was faded and almost sad looking now, and her pants? Well it looked like she got them from someone two times her size. 

"... I guess I could use a few pointers..." Peridot mumbled, obviously making her shorter friends day. 

"Alright P-Dot!" Amethyst shouted, tightly embracing the thinner girl. "You stay her and I'll bring you a few things to try on!" 

"Amethyst I doubt any of your clothes will fit me...." The nerdy blonde put blatantly, pushing her glasses up a bit before sitting on the toilet seat cover.

"Oh don't worry about that! I have a whole wardrobe of abandoned clothes in my room! I'll sure something will fit you!" The excited Hispanic girl stated, disappearing into her room. 

Before long all Peridot could hear was clattering, and an obviously frustrated Amethyst rummaging through things. It took about fifteen minutes before the blonde even heard from the short Hispanic. 

"Hey! I found a cute pair of shorts! They look your size so I'm bringing them out! You gotta show off more skin girl!" Amethyst shouted, finally emerging from what Peridot could only imagine was a complete junkyard. 

"...A-Actually... I'd rather not... shorts aren't my thing." Peridot said, gripping the sides of her jeans tightly.

"Come on! It's just one night! It's not like it's gonna kill you!" Amethyst reassured, handing the piece of clothing to her blonde friend. 

All Peridot could do was stare them before quickly throwing them back. "No... really. I-I don't wanna wear those." She said, her heart starting to pound away in her chest. 

"P-Dot, at least try them on." Amethyst said, seeming kind of annoyed at this point. 

"Amethyst... I don't want to." The short blonde said, starting to feel like a cornered animal. "Just drop it." 

To say that the Hispanic girl was surprised at how Peridot was acting was an understatement, she was at an out right lose of words.

"What? Are embarrassed about people seeing what's under those pant legs?" She teased, trying hard to lighten the air, but completely failing when Peridot seemed to flinch at the words.

"I said drop it!" Peridot snapped, shutting her eyes tightly as she wrapped her arms around herself for some sort of comfort. 

Amethyst was a bit shocked at the outburst, kind of dropping the shorts to the ground while staring at a now seemingly terrified child that was cringing in her bathroom. 

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean-" Peridot started, opening her eyes slowly as some tears fell down her face. 

"Yo... it's cool P-Dot.... shorts are overrated anyway." Amethyst said, making her nerdy friend chuckle in between tears while throwing the shorts out of the bathroom. "Let's.... start with your hair first."

___________________________________

True to her word Amethyst had taken Peridot to a bar instead of The Temple. 

"Do we really have to do this? I was finally getting comfortable at The Temple..." The short blonde stated, staying close behind her short Hispanic friend as they walked into the loud and upbeat establishment.

Amethyst sighed, grabbing the dressed up nerd and pushing her towards the bar. "Look, part of getting out there is getting out of your comfort zone." Once they we sitting Amethyst finally let go of Peridot, leaning against the bar a bit before ordering them some shots to start off the night. "Besides, this is a gay bar, so you don't have to be concerned about flirting with anyone, just like The Temple, so just relax and have fun!" 

Peridot sighed, looking at her friend before giving in and smiling, which earned her a hard, but well meaning, pat on the back. 

"Alright! That's my P-Dot!" The Hispanic girl shouted, quickly handing Peridot a shot of whiskey. "Now lets have some fun!" 

The two took their shots then split up, Amethyst heading to a table full of girls and guys, and Peridot to a quiet part of the bar, hoping to keep to herself. 

She watched Amethyst for awhile though, making sure her friend wouldn't notice how she was just trying to keep to herself. Before long though she was interrupted but a soft, kind of monotoned voice. 

"Need anything to drink?" 

Peridot would've answered right away but when she turned to look at the bartender all words were lost. 

The first thing that caught her off guard were the icy blue eyes that met hers. It was like looking at a frozen stream in the middle of winter. Then was her perfectly proportioned face with a sharp, but still kind of cute, nose, sporting a soft expression. What probably caught her attention the most though was the girls messy dark blue hair and slim but athletic body.  

"Um hello?" The girl said, snapping her fingers at Peridot which made her whole face flush as she fell back in to reality. 

"Oh! U-Um n-no... I'm fine... thanks..." Was all Peridot could manage to say, which made her blush even more. 

With that answer though the girl walked off, seeing if anyone else needed something to drink. 

'Nice going dumbass.' Was the only thing that ran through Peridot's head as she stared off after that head of blue hair. 

____________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Peri's got a crush


	7. Liquid Courage

'What's wrong with you?!' Peridot thought, getting up from her stool and looking around for Amethyst. 'You sounded like a fucking idiot!' If there was something the short blonde couldn't do on her own it was idle conversation. Something she was great at though was making herself look like a stuttering fool, but that wasn't what she needed to be worried about at the moment. What she needed was Amethyst, which was something she thought was never going to happen. 

Once she found the short Hispanic, hiding in a sea of intertwined lips, she ran to her and dragged her to a quiet corner, still keeping her eyes out for the blue hair bartender. 

"Whoa P-Dot! What's gotten into you?" Amethyst asked, obviously a little tipsy, as well as annoyed at her interrupted fun.

"Look, I just need some more advice on how to flirt with someone... I may or may not have just looked like a creep staring down a bartender..." Peridot spat out, looking like a nervous freshman at her first real party. 

Amethyst stood there for a second before bursting out in laughter, which caught the attention of a few bar goers, making Peridot feel even more self conscious then before. What was so funny about this?! Could this girl take anything seriously?!

"P-Dot, take a breath, you're freaking out over nothing." Amethyst explained, wrapping an arm over the short blondes shoulders to comfort her, but mostly so she could keep herself up as she started swaying. "All you have to do is talk, even if it starts to become awkward. Trust me, girls totally love it when someone gets nervous around them, it makes them feel, like, really hot or something, I don't know. Just go for it." 

Before Peridot could object though the short Hispanic walked away, heading back to he sea of bodies she had been rudely ripped away from only moments ago.

'Why does socializing have to come so naturally to her?' Peridot thought, sighing to herself before slowly making her way back to the bar. 

"Can I get you something?" A soft, kind of high pitched, voice asked, causing Peridot to look over. 

She was only a bit taller than Peridot, sporting a long blonde pony tail and hazel eyes. Her body could only be described as curvy, being that she wasn't plump in the same way Amethyst was. She was wearing the same kind of outfit Blue was wearing earlier, which she concluded had to be their uniform.

'Blue? Really? That's what you're gonna call her?' The short blonde thought, sighing again before looking at the bartender in front of her, who was starting to look a bit concerned. 

"You know what? Yeah, can I get two shots of whiskey then we'll see what else.... Sadie?" Peridot said, reading the girls name tag and taking the stool in front of her, resting her arm on the bar before watching Blue taking orders from a few people as she waited for her drinks.

If she was gonna be miserable, watching the cute bartender from the distance, she might as well be miserable and drunk. It's not like it could make her night any worse. 

____________________________________

About four shots later, Peridot was starting to feel a bit better. Seven shots later all she wanted to do was go home, contemplate her existence and go to bed. 

"Um... I think you've had enough..." Sadie said, taking the empty shot glasses off the bar as she watched the short blonde start to slide off her stool. 

"Probably..." Peridot chuckled, still watching Blue at this point. "... Hey... Sadie, right?... have you ever thought someone was cute, well beautiful in this case, but you weren't sure how to say it, mainly because you don't even know them...?" 

"I can't say that I have..." Sadie started, washing a few glasses. "Well at least the part were I don't know them..." 

This caught the young blondes attention, taking her eyes off of Blue for a bit so she could focus on the girl in front of her, which only made the bartender blush at the sudden interest. 

"It's just... there's this guy I went to high school with... and now we're in college together... everyone thinks he's a jerk... and I guess he is but..." She had started to ramble, getting stuck on washing the same cup as she continued, which only made Peridot smile. 'Is this what love looks like?' She thought to herself, sitting up a bit.

"Have you told him how you feel?" She asked, which obviously caught the girl off guard, making her freeze and blush even harder. 

"I-I mean no... I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel the same... so it's better if I don't say anything... I don't want to mess up the friendship we have...." She said, playing with her hair now as she thinks about it, which made her look really cute for a second, either that or the alcohol was finally starting to mess with her head. 

"Look, I'm gonna tell you something my friend over there told me," Peridot started, pointing over her shoulder to where Amethyst was making out with some random guy and girl. "It's better to do something and regret it, then regret having done nothing." 

Once the words left her mouth Peridot realized how much those words really could open someone's eyes. 

"Wow that's.... deep." Sadie said, almost repeating the words Peridot had said herself about two months ago now. 

"Yeah, it is...." The short blonde mumbled, looking back over at Blue before straightening up a bit. "Can I get one more shot? Then I promise I'm done for the night." 

Sadie raised her eyebrow a bit at the sudden change in attitude before shrugging and pouring the shot. "Okay but you really are cut off now..." She said, sliding the drink over to Peridot. 

Without a second thought Peridot took the shot, sighing as the burning liquid made its way into her stomach. "Thanks, for everything." She told Sadie, placing some money on the counter before making her way down the bar towards Blue. 

"Um... you're welcome?" Was the only thing the bartender could manage to get out before taking the money and letting the words play through her head again, smiling softly.

'It's better to do something and regret it, then regret having done nothing.'

__________________________________

What ever was going through Peridots head was definitely gone by he time she was face to face with Blue again. 'Wow, she looks even better then earlier.' She thought, clumsily getting onto an empty stool, ignoring the sound her prosthetics made when they hit the bar.

"Can I get you anything?" Came the same soft monotoned voice from earlier that night, causing the short blonde to look up at the girl for the second time. 

"J-Just some water..." She started, siting up straight in her seat, trying to relax. 'Come on, just breathe.' She thought, closing her eyes for a second before looking at the girl again. "A-And maybe some conversation...?" 

The blue hair bartender raised her eyebrows at the short nerdy girl in front of her then smiled, laughing softly. 

"Alright, so a water and light conversation, coming right up." She said, kind of losing her monotoned voice from earlier, which made Peridots stomach fill with butterflies.

'Did that really just work?' She thought, sitting up a little more in her seat as Blue came back with a glass of water, setting it in front of Peridot before leaning on the counter and resting her chin in the palm of her hand. 

"Sooo... you also wanted a conversation." Blue reminded, making Peridot even more nervous as she took a frantic drink of water. It was kind of cute to the bartender how Peridot was getting flustered over the simplest of words coming from her lips.

"Um... y-yeah...." She mumbled, fixing her shirt even though there was nothing wrong with it. "T-To be honest I didn't think you'd actually take that seriously..." 

'Why would you even say that?!' She screamed at herself, hiding her face in her hands as the girl started to laugh softly. To Peridot's surprise though she didn't walk away, she was still there once she moved her hands away from her face. Maybe this wasn't going as bad as she originally though? Peridot finally looked at the girls name tag, figuring she might as well learn the girls name if they were gonna continue talking, and read 'Lapis' off of it.

'Oh course," The short blonde thought, glancing at Lapis. 'Beautiful name for a beautiful woman...'

"Well... I gotta take some orders, but, if you were serious about having a conversation, I'll be back in a few minutes." Lapis said, standing up straight again before brushing some hair out of her face.

"Y-Yeah!" Peridot almost shouted, getting a few glances from the other bar goers, once again, which made her even more uncomfortable than before. She was starting to think this night might go on forever. "I mean yeah... I-I'll be here..." She mumbled, kind of crossing her arms a bit and trying to avoid any form of eye contact which just made the girl laugh again.

"Alright, sit tight cutie." Lapis said, shooting her a soft smile before walking off to take orders. 

Just like that Peridot went from a nervous wreck to a complete wreck. Her face was as red as a tomato and she was pretty sure that her hands were sweating now.

'I have to remember to thank Amethyst later...' She thought, watching Lapis for a while before ordering a glass of water from Sadie. 

_______________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peri looks like she's gonna be haveing some fun here soon ^^   
> Well, that concludes our little four chapters in three days. I'll see you guys next Sunday with chapter eight!


	8. One Long Night....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wave of confidence and happiness that washed over Peridot made her feel better than she had in awhile. She felt like she was on top of the world and only God himself could kick her back down. With all the emotions swarming around her she almost didn't hear Garnet speak up again....

"Wait wait wait, let me get this straight." Lapis said, laughing softly as an amused Peridot sat up a bit more. "You're mother rushed home cause she thought that you were having a party, which you were, but it was your birthday party that your family was throwing because she couldn't be there? What kind of parent does that?" 

Peridot shrugged and finished her second glass of water, finally starting to feel a little less intoxicated. "I guess the kind of parent that's only home every couple months." She said, looking up at the blue haired bartender. 

It was quiet for a moment, if you didn't pay any mind to the background noise coming from the rest of the bar

"Well, at least she rushed home worried about you, right?" Lapis stated, resting her elbows on the counter so that she could be face to face with the short blonde. "There are worse things." 

"Yeah, you got that right." Peridot laughed, blushing softly at how close this girl was. "Well now it's your turn to share a story." 

The night couldn't have been going better. Peridot was at a bar, flirting with a cute girl, possibly being flirted with as well? She could never tell, but at least they seemed to be having a decent conversation. 

"Yoooo, P-Dot." The blondes short friend groaned, stumbling over and leaning against her for support. "We should probably go...." 

Amethyst looked she had just been hit by a car. Her hair was a mess, she had several bruises on her neck and shoulders, from what Peridot could make out, and she looked like she was in pain. It was obvious she'd drank to much, which was unusual since the plump Hispanic girl could drink about anyone under the bus.

"What's wrong Amethyst?" Peridot asked, obviously very concerned while getting down from the stool quickly and holding her friend up.

"She's fine, just got a little carried away with the drinks." I monotoned voice called from a nearby table. 

When the short blonde looked over she saw three people, looking almost as bad as Amethyst, sitting in a booth. The one who had talked was the tallest and thinnest, from what could be made out, with spiked up white hair and green eyes. He seemed a little over done for a bar with all the glow sticks he had on and he was with two other people. One of them was nothing less then an amazingly beautiful girl with a creamy brown skin tone and plump lips. Her hair was black and a bit wavy from what could be seen at this distance. The last one was a guy, a bit shorter then the other two, with dark brunette hair that was spiked up, but not as high as the first guy, with sunglasses on. 

"Um... Peridot right?" Lapis asked, making the short blonde girl look up in her direction. "You know I can call you two a taxi, neither of you should really be driving...." 

At first Peridot was going to refuse, but then she realized she really couldn't call Garnet and Pearl, they shouldn't spend their night out dragging the two short drunk girls home.

"Actually that would be great..." Peridot said, sighing as she made Amethyst sit down. 

"What about my car...?" The short Hispanic groaned, laying her face down on the table.

"You can get it in the morning." Peridot snapped, sighing a bit as the drunk girl started to whine about her being mean. "Thanks by the way, you don't have to call a cab." She told Lapis while rubbing her neck nervously, which made the bartender smile.

"I do actually." She said, pulling out her phone and pulling up the number. "It's kind of my job." 

"Oh..." The short blonde said, blushing a bit while looking away kind of embarrassed.

"You're welcome though." 

Peridot looked up at the girl again and smiled, feeing like a bunch of butterflies were forming in her stomach. Once Lapis made the request and hung up the short blonde took a quick breath.

"Can... Can I get your number by any chance?" She asked, stumbling over her words as they rushed out, which made the bartender laugh again. 

'This is stupid, why would anyone go through this kind of humiliation?' Peridot thought as she stood there kind of stif and blushed even harder. What's the point? It's not like she'd made some sort of impression on the girl, she was probably just listening to Peridot ramble on earlier because she didn't want to seem rude.

"Normally I'd say no.... but," Lapis started, grabbing a napkin and writing down the ten digit number. "You're pretty cute."

The short blonde stood in awe for a moment, and she could've sworn there were stars in her eyes as she looked at Lapis. 

"Wow... thanks!" She said enthusiastically, putting the napkin in her pocket after folding it up carefully. 

_____________________________

The taxi took awhile to get there, so Peridot tried to hold up Amethyst while holding up a conversation with Lapis, starting to have a bit more trouble when Amethyst started to chime in. 

"You two are totally gonna fuck later on."  
Or  
"Man can you guys just kiss already."

Both were making Peridot completely uncomfortable. It was almost like drowning without the satisfaction of dying at the end. Just floating there, the saltwater burning your eyes and lungs for the rest of eternity. 

"I think your taxi is here." Sadie chimed in, finally letting Peridot reach land. 

"Well this was fun but I'm gonna get her home." Peridot said quickly, practically dragging Amethyst out of the bar, making Lapis laugh. 

"Don't forget to text me!" Was the last thing the short blonde heard before Amethyst burst out laughing, having trouble getting into the small red vehicle.

"Shut up or a swear to god I'll leave you to walk home." The embarrassed blond threatened, helping her tipsy Hispanic friend.

"Lighten up P-Dot! I'm proud of you that's all." Amethyst teased, sighing before she gave the driver her address first. "I mean come on, you flirted with someone, who was hot as hell might I add, and you got her number! That's like steps one threw five accomplished." 

Peridot hadn't really thought about the whole situation until now and smiled to herself, feeling pretty good about how it all went down. Maybe she had just been worrying to much before hand. 

"Thanks Amethyst." Is the only thing that comes out of her mouth the whole ride, and her loud friend couldn't do anything but smile. 

Once Amethyst was home she paid the taxi driver and waved to her short blonde friend, stumbling up to her apartment and getting ready for the small lecture she'd receive from Steven. 

Not long after, Peridot was back at the dorms and fumbling through her pockets to find her room key. Right when she did though the door opened and a very happy looking Pearl exited the room, freezing up like a deer in the headlights when she finally noticed the short blond.

"Why... H-hello Peridot!" She said nervously, a crimson color taking over her face. "I was just... um... well leaving." 

Before Peridot could think of any smart mouth thing to say, Pearl was rushing out of the dormitories and into the parking lot. So the blond decided to pick on her quiet roommate instead.

"Welcome back." Garnet said, wearing much looser clothing then usual, her hair a complete mess as well. 

"God the whole room just smells like ragging hormones." Peridot says, walking over to her bed and getting out of the clothes Amethyst insisted she wear. "I'm guessing that means you and Pearl had a lot of fun."

"Yep." Was the only response she got. 

"... Pearl looked like her legs were probably hurting." The blond insinuated, looking over at the taller girl, praying for some sign of embarrassment. 

"Yeah, they probably did." Garner said, getting in bed and smiling as the blond blushed and huffed.

"Come on! You're not even a little embarrassed?" Peridot whined, deciding to keep her pants on for the night since she still wasn't sure about anyone seeing her prosthetics legs.

"Nope." 

At this point she was ready to give up and head to bed. "Alright fine miss cool, want me to turn the light off?" 

Garnet nodded and a second later the room was engulfed by darkness. 

"How'd your night go?" Comes from Garnets side of the room as the shorter of the two tries to make it to her seemingly invisible bed. 

"To be honest?" Peridot said, finding her bed and crawling under the covers. "It was great... I talked to someone, and I mean like a full fledged conversation with this really cute bartender. I even got her number.... it was weird but, it was also really nice." 

The wave of confidence and happiness that washed over Peridot made her feel better than she had in awhile. She felt like she was on top of the world and only God himself could kick her back down. With all the emotions swarming around her she almost didn't hear Garnet speak up again. 

"Are you gonna call her? Text her maybe?" 

"Maybe tomorrow." Peridot said, because she felt like tonight was already perfect, and it should stay perfect.

________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! How have you been! I'm so sorry about the two month wait... I've decided that instead of making you guys promises I'll just update when I have free time... Anyway I hope you enjoyed! See you next Chapter!


	9. Tame Teachings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Peridot could object the line went dead and her screen was back to life, displaying her neatly organized applications. 
> 
> "Sometimes I hate you...." Peridot sighed softly, smiling to herself as she grabbed a few things and started heading to the showers, in hope of washing away any leftover self pity from the night before.

'This is nothing! You've written 72 paged essays on complexed film analysis! What's a simple hello?' Peridot thought to herself, staring down her illuminated cellphone screen. 

It had been four days since she got Lapis's number, and she hadn't even tried to start a conversation.

'Maybe I could just give her a call?' She asked herself, clicking the more information button at the top right hand corner of the screen. Just before hitting the call button though she collapsed onto her bed and groaned, letting the phone drop to the bed with a small thud. 'Calling her would be so stupid! I mean it was just a small conversation at a bar, we're so not on calling terms yet... anyway it's like 8:00am, there's no way she'd be awake...'

As the short blonde tried to come up with even more 'rational reasons' on why she shouldn't give the cute bartender a call, her cellphone rang to life, flashing 'Amethyst' across the screen. Peridot let out a long sigh before picking up the device and answering the call, but before she could even say hello;

'~You're still mopping about in your room aren't you?~' Amethyst asked, obviously slightly annoyed. 

"....No, I've been working on some assignments." Peridot grumbled, sitting up straight. "And I don't mope..." 

'~You totally mope P-Dot.~' The short Hispanic teased, chuckling a by before taking a bite of something, the crunching sound almost intensified because of the speaker on the phone. '~Anyway,~' Amethyst said in-between loud chewing. '~You should come down to Ruby's, the whole gang is here getting some food in them before classes start.~' 

"Yeah sure, I'll be there in a bit I just have to finish this... objective." Peridot sighed, still a little caught up in her own unfortunate love life, that was slowly starting to go down the drain.

'~Oh my god, you still haven't text her have you?!~' Amethyst yells, causing the short blonde to move the phone away from her ear, followed by Pearl saying something about inside voices in the background. '~Get your ass down here now!~' 

Before Peridot could object the line went dead and her screen was back to life, displaying her neatly organized applications. 

"Sometimes I hate you...." Peridot sighed softly, smiling to herself as she grabbed a few things and started heading to the showers, in hope of washing away any leftover self pity from the night before.

Using the dormitory showers had started to get easier for her, in fact, everything about dormitory life seemed to be getting easier. 

The only thing that was still hard was looking down at herself everyday. 

___________________________________

As soon as she turned on the warm water she sat down on the small bench, slowly taking off her prosthetic legs. 

"Fuck...." She groaned, feeling a wave of relief hitting her as she took them off. It had been a few weeks, as evident from the dirt and the pressure marks circling her knee and waist. 

Looking at her prosthetic's was never as painful as looking at the remainder of her actual legs. 'It could've been worse..' Was all she heard run through her head at the moment, even over the sound of the water hitting the cool tile on the floor. 'The Doctor said you could've also lost your knees...'

At the time it happened, all she could think of was how this was her mothers fault, how this all could've been avoided... but she also knew that her mother had been beating herself over it the past few years as well. 

She sat in silence, slowly cleaning the dirt off what was left of her legs before moving to wash the rest of her body. 'Is this ever gonna get easier?' She thought as she pulled the prosthetic's back on. Maybe it would... but not while she was quietly hiding herself away in a shower stall... and hiding from her friends.

_____________________________________

"Yo! What took you so long?! Their about to start selling dinner at this point!" Amethyst yelled after noticing the short blonde walk in. 

"Amethyst do you always have to shout?" Pearl sighed, smiling softly as Peridot took the seat across from her, Garnet and Steven. "We were starting to think you wouldn't join us though." Pearl explained, finishing up a cup of tea. 

"Not me." Garnet said, letting one of her arms drape around her slender girlfriend. 

"Yeah yeah, whatever." The short Hispanic dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Now down to business! Why haven't you texted that hot bartender yet?!" 

The intensity of Amethyst's voice almost shook the table, causing a few of the other diner patrons to glare in the direction of the small group. 

"I agree with Pearl, do you always have to yell?" Steven asked, kind of blushing in embarrassment.

"Okay fine." Amethyst sighed, looking directly at Peridot. "But seriously, what's the hold up? Hottie seemed to like you."

Peridot had only been in the diner for a moment or two and she was already feeling more overwhelmed then when her mother bombarded her about what college she wants to attend. "...first off her name was Lapis..." The short blonde said, her cheeks flushing as she tried to ignore the smirk forming on Amethyst face. "And second off.... I don't even think she even liked me all that much."

Everyone's face, minus Peridots of course, seemed to go blank for a moment before all of them started to laugh, Amethyst of course drowning out everyone else, which only made the short blonde even more embarrassed. 

"Are you kidding me?!" Amethyst laughed, punching Peridots shoulder softly. "If she wasn't interested in at least talking to you she wouldn't have given you her number P-Dot." 

"Unless she gave you someone else's number." Garnet chimed in, making the table go silent for a second. 

"Ignore that Peridot, I'm sure what Garnet really meant was that you're over thinking this." Steven said, breaking the silence.

"You guys are probably right..." The short blonde sighed, laying her face against the table just as Ruby was walking over to the table.

"Hey kiddo's were you ready to order n-" Before Ruby could finish though she noticed the young girl and looked at all of them. "I'll let you all have a few more minutes."

"Thanks mum." Garnet said, giving her a thumbs up as Amethyst coaxed Peridot to sit up once again. 

"Look we're not trying to make you feel worse about this." The short Hispanic said with a smile. "We're here to help you out girl!" 

The other three nodded and smiled in agreement when the short blonde looked over at them. 

"...What do I even say?" She asked bashfully, making Amethyst laugh again. 

Pearl glared at Amethyst then sighed, smiling at the shorter girl. Just as she was about to say something, Garnet cut in again. 

"Just send her a greeting then tell her that you guys met at the bar and what your name is." 

Once again the table got silent, but Amethyst broke the silence this time. "Yeah that's about it."

Peridot say there dumbfounded, just staring at the table feeling like an idiot. "Of course it's that simple..." She groaned. 

The group composed the message together before handing Peridot her phone back. 

"Are we sure about this? I don't have to message her at all and forget that she exists..." The short blonde said nervously before Amethyst took the phone back. 

"Remember what I told you?" She said, winking at the blonde before sending the message and a new wave of panic setting in;

'Hey! It's Peridot. I don't know if you remember me but you gave me your number a few nights ago.' 

As she looked over the message her heart began to sink. 'There is no way she's gonna reply to that..'

Just as she was about to give up hope and order her food, her phone vibrated. 

________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there everyone! Nope I haven't abandoned this story! Just been really busy.... sorry about that. Anyway I hope to enjoy, I will have chapter ten at some point. Update on me I've been working! School really paid off and now I'm doin what I love and getting paid to do it. Chapters are gonna be pretty spaced out because of this, but do not worry, I'm not even close to done >:)


	10. Late Nights and Early Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was already a cup of the warm dark liquid sitting on the counter in a mug for the tired bartender, which just made her regret leaving her land of slumber even more. Her focus quickly shifted to the large figure in the kitchen however, staring blankly at a woman who just seemed to be a familiar stranger at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sorry this took to long!]

Early mornings had to be the death of all graveyard workers. Even the simple beauty of daylight trickling through curtain covered windows could be turned into a horrible nightmare, turning mortals into blood thirsty killers of the night. 

'Maybe that's what started the whole vampire thing.... someone just went to bed and someone else came and woke them up at the crack of dawn and they just fucking flipped and ripped the other persons throat out with their teeth so they could avoid the sun a bit longer.'

Morbid thoughts like this always ran through the young bartenders mind, at least when she wasn't in the best of moods. 

Lapis sat up and groaned, her blue hair sticking out in unnatural angles. Just as she was starting to contemplate whether to begin her day or try for a few more hours of sleep the smell of coffee creeped into the room, causing an irritated sigh to escape her lips. 

Coffee being made only meant one thing; 

"Jasper's home." Lapis said to herself, getting out of bed and escaping the clinches of the warm blankets that had been consuming her for the past three hours.

As she exited the small, rather plain, room she started to regret it, wanting nothing more than to retreat back to her warm and inviting bed. She also knew that if she did, she wouldn't hear the end of it. Finally she turned the corner and a small, but functional, kitchen came into view, carpet being the only real divider between that and the living quarters.

There was already a cup of the warm dark liquid sitting on the counter in a mug for the tired bartender, which just made her regret leaving her land of slumber even more. Her focus quickly shifted to the large figure in the kitchen however, staring blankly at a woman who just seemed to be a familiar stranger at this point. 

She was tall, REALLY tall, and had the body of a young Frank Zane. Toned, broad, tan, and it was all accompanied by a messy mop of blonde hair that had been quickly thrown into a ponytail. 

“Morning.” Is the only thing Lapis heard come from the gigantic woman, who’s back was still to her.

The young bartender didn’t say anything back though, she just walked to the counter and grabbed the warm mug containing the coffee, carefully sipping the hot liquid.

A heavy sigh left the masculine woman’s lips as she took a drink from her own mug. “How was work?” She asked, turning to face Lapis, reveling a strong jawline and symmetrical face. 

Her eyes we almost the color gold, making her platinum hair stand out even more.

“It was work, so nothing special.” Lapis said, avoiding the large woman’s gaze as shivers ran down her spine. 

Out of nowhere the larger woman slammed her mug on the counter, causing Lapis to flinch, but she didn’t say a thing.

“I’m sick of this.” The larger girl hissed, walking up to the small bartender. “Why can’t we just have a normal fucking conversation?” 

In that moment Lapis felt like she wanted to test out throat ripping scenario, her face was red from anger and she felt as if she was gonna burst. 

“It was a normal conversation until just now!” Lapis snapped, looking up at the much taller girl. “Work is work, I’m only there to make a wage and help keep a roof over our heads!” 

The argument escalated, neither one of them willing to try and correct the situation. This had been going on for months now, though the two of them couldn’t pinpoint exactly when their whole relationship had begun to fall apart.

They had been together for almost two years now, and the first year was great. Lapis was a freshman who wanted to be an art major and Jasper? She had a stable job working as a security guard for a large company. They had met one night at ‘The Temple’, Lapis was hanging out with a few of her friends when Jasper and one of her coworkers came barreling in, obviously having already started the long night somewhere else as they stumbled about laughing. There wasn’t much to their meeting, or at least nothing that stuck of in the young bartenders mind anymore. Jasper was flirting with Lapis, they had a few drinks together and one thing lead to another, which involved Lapis waking up in some run down employee housing neighborhood. 

That would have been the end of it, if Lapis hadn’t forgotten a few things that prompted her to return to Jaspers house. When she got back though, what she saw was a completely different woman than the drunken mess from the night before. Picking up her stuff lead to a number exchange, which lead to coffee dates, then dinner dates, then a relationship, then the big moving in situation, and finally, the utter catastrophe that was their lives. 

“I’m done with this argument...” Lapis stated, setting down her coffee mug. “I’ll be in bed, last night was exhausting.”

With that the blue haired girl retreated back into their shared room and shut the door, hoping that it would protect her from facing the reality of her crumbling relationship for awhile longer. 

If she wasn’t tired before now she was just dead beat, feeling as if everything was just sucked out of her. Wearily she crawled back into the comfort of her bed and began to drift off. That is, until her phone went off, causing and audible groan to escape her lips as she sat up and retrieved the device from her nightstand. 

‘Who the hell is messaging me?!’ She thought, feeling very agitated at the moment. However, all of her annoyance and anger slowly faded as she read the message, almost causing a smile to spread across her lips.

‘Hey! It's Peridot. I don't know if you remember me but you gave me your number a few nights ago.' 

Lapis sat there for a moment before thinking back to the night that her and the dorky, but cute, girl had been talking and just enjoying each other’s company. It had been awhile since she felt that comfortable with... well anyone. 

‘There’s no harm in trying to make a new friend... right?’ She asked herself, reluctantly looking towards her bedroom door, as if she was looking through it and towards her large and inattentive girlfriend. Finally, she came to a conclusion, messaging the short blonde back.

‘Hey, I was wondering if you were ever gonna message me. Feeling any better after the other night?’ 

__________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I know this was a little different then my normal chapters, but I thought it would be nice to see how things are in Lapis’s life in my little world. I know it’s short, it’s technically not done but I’m gonna be doing a lot for the next few days so I figured I’d give you the first half of this chapter now and the rest next week! Thank you so much for sticking with me!


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